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Doctors at the small Connally Memorial Medical Center about 10 miles from Sutherland Springs said they have one patient remaining at the hospital. They said while the physical wounds will heal, many of the emotional wounds will take a lot longer. (Nov. 7)

This undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety shows Devin Kelley, the suspect in the shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2017. A short time after the shooting, Kelley was found dead in his vehicle.(Photo: Texas Department of Public Safety via AP)

WASHINGTON — Almost five years ago, a military court dropped gun charges against Airman First Class Devin Kelley – who gunned down 26 people in a Texas church Sunday – and instead gave him a light, one-year sentence for threatening his wife with a loaded gun and attacking her one-year-old child, raising questions about whether the military treats domestic violence cases with sufficient gravity.

His sentence was “very light,” said Don Christensen, the Air Force's former top prosecutor whose office oversaw the Kelley case. “Very light, but sadly not unusually light. I’ve done a lot of shaken baby cases, and they almost always come in around a year of confinement.”

Beyond the relatively light sentence, the Air Force failed to put the conviction in the federal background-check database. That allowed Kelley, to legally buy the AR-15 he used on Sunday to kill 26 people and wound 20 at his mother-in-law's Texas church.

The military court considered allegations that Kelley pointed loaded and unloaded guns at her. He admitted he struck his infant stepson with force that could have killed and choked and kicked his wife, documents show.

But the court dropped the gun charges against Kelley in exchange for a one year sentence for "domestic violence" for throttling his wife and child.

"In 2012, this member was properly charged, tried, convicted and sentenced by a panel of qualified Air Force members for assaulting his wife and minor step-son," Gen. Robin Rand, who at the time was the top officer who signed off on the conviction, said in a statement to USA TODAY. "His prosecution was in accordance with the principles of our legal system and based on the evidence gathered and our ability to convict."

Christensen said that the verdict in a civilian court likely would have been more harsh, but it is difficult to make direct comparisons because of differences in state laws and facts in cases.

In the military, however, he said accused troops often get the benefit of the doubt by a court made up of fellow service members.

The military justice system is ill-equipped to handle domestic violence cases, Christensen said. Lower-level commanders can decide which abuse cases are sent for courts-martial and they usually know the accused, but not the alleged victim.

And military spouses don't get the benefit of the doubt.

Troops accused of domestic abuse, "often lay the ground work by complaining to their first sergeant, 'My wife’s crazy.' So, when the wife finally does come forward, his superiors are ready to disbelieve her," Christensen said. "The belief is that she’s just out to get him. She’s just out to destroy his career."

Afraid of the abuser and often dependent on him for support, the women often retract their accusations, he said. There has also been a push to handle such cases through counseling, rather than demanding that serious domestic abuse cases be handled by courts.

Some troops also feel domestic problems should be kept within families, said Christensen, who is president of Protect Our Defenders, an advocacy group for victims of sexual assault in the military.

"There are still too many in the military who view this as an issue between a man and his wife, or a parent and his child," Christensen said. "We also have those who worry that if they give the guy a punitive discharge, it could hurt his family because it would limit his ability to make money."

Kelley was given a bad conduct discharge, less punitive than a dishonorable discharge. He was also busted to E-1, the lowest rank in the Air Force.

The Air Force acknowledged Monday that Kelley's conviction should have been reported to federal authorities. That would have barred him from buying the weapons legally.

The Air Force announced that it had launched an investigation to determine why that information was not transmitted to federal authorities. The Pentagon's Inspector General is also reviewing the circumstances of the case.

The investigation, spokesman Bruce Anderson said, will also review other types of information that military needs to supply for the NCIC database.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday that he had ordered the Inspector General's investigation.